Page 8 of Ava
“Ava?”
“Yep.” Ava grinned, then held up her hand when Angel started toward her. “Please, tell me I can use your bathroom. I don’t want to embarrass us both if you hug me right now.”
Laughing, Angel turned on her heel and told her to follow her. In the bathroom, Ava sighed in relief as she let her bladder empty, washed her hands, and face, then rejoined the others. By this time there were several couples standing around, and it seemed like more bikes had arrived.
“Ava,” Angel said as she approached with a man by her side. “This is my fiancé, Duke. Before you ask, he was D-Force. All the men here were in the military at one time. Honey, this is Ava Hanson, the woman I told you about.”
They shook hands, and introductions were made, but Ava doubted she’d ever remember all the names.
“You made good time.”
“I did, am I interrupting anything?” Ava waved her hand around to point out all the other motorcycles in the front yard.
“No, we just returned from a run, the guys are firing up the BBQ. You will be joining us.” Angel’s tone and words made it a statement, not a question, and there was nothing Ava could say to deny the fact that she was staying, because until she talked to Angel, she had no idea what this new job was all about.
“Okay, but what about this job you told me about?” Ava watched all the activity around, and sighed. “Sorry, I know now isn’t the time to discuss this.”
“We can discuss this when we sit down to eat, but until then, I have some stuff to get ready.”
“Let me help.” Ava followed Angel into the house, and was introduced to all the women in the kitchen. It didn’t take long for them to whip up several side dishes to go with the meat the men were barbecuing. Within two hours of arriving, Ava was helping to put food out on several tables. The smells caused her stomach to growl, and after placing her hands over it, she laughed when Angel handed her a plate, and told her to get in line. Once she took her fill, Ava made her way over to an empty bench on a picnic table to sit and enjoy her meal. She was soon joined by Angel and Duke. No one said anything as they ate, not until they had appeased their hunger, then the conversation started.
“I know you want to know about the job, but I don’t have a lot of information.” Angel began, but held up her hand when Ava went to say something. “Duke and I both work with Hank.” She used her fork to point to a man several tables over, holding a small child in his lap, feeding her. “That’s Hank, and he’s in charge of Brotherhood Protection. I work with them sometimes, but I didn’t call you here to work with us.”
“I don’t understand.”
Angel put her fork down, moved her plate to the side, and crossed her arms on the table. Leaning into them, she studied Ava intently. “I remember you from when I met you when our teams were on different missions, but our paths crossed. I remembered you, and after I got out, I heard that something happened to you.” Angel paused and waited for Ava to fill in the blanks.
“No sense beating around the bush here. I’m sure you’ve got connections to read my file, or had someone summarize it for you.” Ava frowned when Angel didn’t confirm nor deny what she had just said. “Okay, then. My last mission went FUBAR at the most critical point. I had everything lined up with my finger on the trigger, just as I began to squeeze the trigger, the mission was aborted. I rolled over to let out my breath, and someone hit me in the face. I was taken and tortured. The SEAL team waiting for confirmation that my target was down came in to rescue me.”
“Damn,” Duke said as he shook his head and pushed his own plate away. “How long?”
“I believe it was only twelve hours, but during that time I had several broken ribs, they burned the tip of knives and laid them on my body, as well as being waterboarded. The only thing good about the entire ordeal was that I was able to get some very important information that I passed along. No clue what the brass did with it, but I was awarded a medal for it when I was recovering in the hospital.”
“You didn’t go back to your team?” Duke asked.
“My doctors wouldn’t clear me for active duty. Oh, I passed the psych exam and all, but I experienced pain when it was time for me to pass the physical exam. The doctor wouldn’t sign off on allowing me to rejoin the team. And...” she paused until they both looked at her. “Pardon my language, but the fucker wouldn’t wait two or three weeks until I healed more and let me retake the physical part of the exam. He said I wasn’t up to one hundred percent.”
“I understand,” Duke said as his arm disappeared beneath the table. It looked like he was rubbing his leg. “I had the same problem with my knee and was given a medical discharge.”
“Yeah.” That summed up the three of their careers, cut short due to injuries while doing what they loved, serving their country. The three of them remained silent for several minutes, until Angel shook herself and leaned on her forearms. “The reason why I called you is because a friend of mine is starting up a second branch of a security group over in North Dakota.”
“Where’s the original branch located?” Ava asked.
“I’m not sure their exact location, but have you ever heard of the Boswell Group?”
“Holy shit, yes I have. I’ve done a few missions for them.” Ava stared at Angel in shock. “Are you telling me that another Boswell Group will be opening in North Dakota?”
“Yes, and the woman putting it together wants only former EWMs to work for her. She herself was one.”
“Holy shit, I know I’m repeating myself, but this is something I could sink my teeth into.”
“I thought so, and I gave your name to Morgan. She in turn had her contact at the original office run you. I only contacted you when she got the all clear that you would be a perfect operative for the new branch of Boswell.” Angel nodded and took a sip of her beer. “I had you come here before I gave you all the information about going to meet Morgan. I guess you could say I’m like a recruiter for her. If you agree to meet with Morgan, and discuss what she has to say and may offer you, I would like to invite you to spend the night with us, then you can head over there in the morning.”
“Yes,” Ava laughed as she leaned back and put her arms out wide. “Absolutely. I can’t believe something like this has fallen into my lap.”
“Don’t get too happy.” A man stepped up to the table to voice his statement. He took a seat on the other end of the bench from Ava. “Hank.”
“Ava.” They exchanged handshakes and Ava studied him hard. “What do you know?”
